Objective: Intraindividual comparison of right ventricular volumes and function using electron beam computed tomography (EBT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).
Methods: Twenty-seven patients with a known cardiac history were referred for evaluation of ventricular function parameters. The following standardized protocols were used: contrast-enhanced multislice mode EBT and gradient echo sequence MRI. Right ventricular end-diastolic volume (EDV), end-systolic volume (ESV), stroke volume (SV), and ejection fraction (EF) were calculated using a slice summation method. Interobserver variability was calculated.
Results: The correlation between the 2 methods was: r = 0.901 for EDV, r = 0.938 for ESV, r = 0.823 for SV, and r = 0.953 for EF. Electron beam computed tomography overestimated EDV and ESV slightly when compared with MRI (P < 0.05). No significant differences (P > 0.05) were found between SV and EF. Mean values determined by EBT and MRI were as follows: 168.6 +/- 62.3 mL and 153.7 +/- 59.1 mL for EDV, 104.7 +/- 60.4 mL and 95.1 +/- 54.8 mL for ESV, 63.2 +/- 19.3 mL and 58.7 +/- 19.8 mL for SV, and 40.2% +/- 14.1% and 40.2% +/- 13.6% for EF, respectively. Interobserver variability ranged between 1.0% and 3.2%.
Conclusion: Electron beam computed tomography shows good agreement with a close correlation and an acceptable interobserver variability for right ventricular volumes and global function, with a small but significant overestimation of EDV and ESV when compared with MRI.